THE CHOIR BEFORE RESTORATION, SHOWING THE FACTORY FLOOR EXTENDING OVER THE APSE AND SUPPORTED BY TWO IRON COLUMNSTHE CHOIR BEFORE RESTORATION, SHOWING THE FACTORY FLOOR EXTENDING OVER THE APSE AND SUPPORTED BY TWO IRON COLUMNS
The secularization of this extreme eastern part of the church is traced to the first purchaser from the Government, who held that the sanctuary was bounded by the straight wall which there ran across it. A more modern consequence than that just mentioned was the intrusion into the triforium of a Nonconformist school, which was held there during the eighteenth century, in connection with a chapel belonging to the particular denomination immediately outside, having a convenient access to the triforium from its own galleries. Another encroachment was a fringe manufactory, which extended westwards along the triforium so as to include Prior Bolton's window, and held its ground for some time after the main arcading of the apse had been restored. Visitors to the church before the restoration was complete will remember a substantial iron bar which was carried across the curve, above the altar, to strengthen the walls—an eyesore which could not be removed till the intruding factory was bought out (vide infra).
The real work of restoration was begun in 1863 by the late Rev. John Abbiss, then Rector of the parish, who raised something like £5,000, and spent it in reducing the floor to its original level, removing the pews (which had previously been lowered), repairing the walls and piers, and rebuilding the central part of the apse, which had been pulled down early in the fifteenth century, as already explained.
Outside the church a dry area was formed for the better protection of the fabric against the subsidence known to follow on the ignorance, or indifference, of early builders as to underlying strata. All this was accomplished in three years, when the money was exhausted, and a fresh fund had to be created for the continuation of the restorative work. In raising subscriptions the then patron of the living, the Rev. F. P. Phillips, was well supported by the parishioners, the City Companies, the Charity Commissioners (out of the City Ecclesiastical Funds), and the general public, with the result that a sum of over £28,000 was got together. The chief individual contributor was the patron himself, who purchased the projecting fringe factory for £6,500,[17]and completed the restoration of the apse at his own expense. At the same time the church was provided with a new roof, and the blacksmith's forge, which occupied the site of the north transept, was bought out. On the 30th November, 1886, the restored portions were formally opened, the actual work having started about two years before, under the active interest of the Rev. William Panckridge, who succeeded Mr. Abbiss in the Rectory.
The long list of works undertaken and completed from 1887 to 1893, under the succeeding Rector, the Rev. Sir J. Borradaile Savory, Bart., includes the restoration of both transepts, the opening out of both sides of the choir triforium,[18]the erection of the north and west porches, the refacing of the west front, the reparation of the brick tower, and the re-hanging of the bells, besides numerous external and internal details.
The crowning work was the reconstruction of the Lady Chapel, which was not completed till 1896, after the tedious business of releasing it from its secular holders, and the recovery of the original design amidst the mutilation in which they left it. The whole has been admirably carried through by Sir Aston Webb, R.A., who has restored the precious fabric as nearly as possible to its original state, by replacing what was destroyed, and revealing what was concealed when the difficult task was committed to him.
The restoration has since been extended to three bays on the eastern side of the cloister, all that remained of the original quadrangle, and these in a sadly ruinous state. Whether the cloisters were completed by Rahere is a matter of conjecture; but it may be fairly assumed that they were begun by him as a necessary part of the monastery. The surviving Norman fragments point to the twelfth century as the date of their first erection. It is certain that they were rebuilt in the fifteenth, for besides the architectural remains of that period, there is historical evidence that the work was done under Prior John Watford soon after his appointment in 1404. For in September, 1409, Pope Alexander V, when making a grant of Indulgences to those who visited and gave alms at the church on Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, Holy Saturday, and the Feast of the Assumption, expressly mentions the reconstruction of the Cloisters and Chapter House by the Prior among the reasons which had induced him to confer the privilege.
When the monastery was suppressed, the archway leading into the east cloister from the church was built up, and the doors were taken from it—in all probability to be transferred (in 1544) to the principal entrance at the western end of the truncated building.
In the reconstruction attempted by the Dominican Friars, it seems that, instead of re-opening the cloister-arch to its full extent, they contented themselves with inserting a smaller doorway within it, the jambs and lintel of which were discovered in the rubble masonry when the arch was opened out in 1905. On the suppression of the Dominicans by Queen Elizabeth, the cloisters passed again into secular hands, and disappear from history until the year 1742, when there is a record of the stabling that occupied the ruins till our own day, with the temporary interruption of a fire in 1830, which brought most of the eastern side to the ground. The stables were afterwards rebuilt, and left undisturbed till 1900, when negotiations were opened for the purchase of the freehold from the owners.
It was not till Michaelmas, 1904, that possession, even of a part, could be obtained, as there were various leasehold interests to be reckoned with, and many beneficiaries to be satisfied, whose rights will not be finally extinguished until June, 1926. But excavation was at once commenced, and the actual rebuilding in 1905. It need hardly be said that all that has been discovered of the ancient work, here and elsewhere, whether above or below ground, has been carefully preserved, and incorporated (as far as possiblein situ) into the restoration.
Footnotes[1]I. "Liber fundationis ecclesiae et prioratus S. Bartholomaei in West-Smithfield, London; per Raherum qui illic religiosos viros secundum regulam S. patris Augustini aggregavit, iisdemque per XXII annos prioris dignitate et officio functus praetuit, et de miraculis ipsius."II. "Idem liber Anglice."Both are on parchment, in pages of the same (quarto) size, and bound together in a single volume of eighty-three leaves, divided almost equally between the Latin and English versions.—Cottonian MSS. Vespasian, B. ix.[2]"When he attained the flower of youth, he began to haunt the households of noblemen and the palaces of princes, where, under every elbow of them, he spread their cushions, with apings and flatterings delectably anointing their eyes, to draw to him their friendships. And yet he was not content with this, but haunted the King's palace, and among the noisefull press of that tumultuous Court enforced himself with jollity and carnal suavity, by the which he might draw to him the hearts of many a one."—Cottonian MS.,ut supra.[3]Cottonian MS.[4]Ibid.[5]This Richard de Belmeis (Beauvais) was the first of two bishops of the same name, and held the See of London for twenty years (1108-1128).The name of Rahere, which appears in various forms, suggests a French origin; and from the fact that it occurs in the signature, or attestation, of certain documents discovered in Brittany, as well as from the close relations between the bishop and the founder of St. Bartholomew's, it is conjectured that they both came from the same neighbourhood. Otherwise their joint interest in the foundation at Smithfield is sufficiently accounted for by the benevolent object and the situation within the London diocese.Leland gives the credit of the foundation to Henry I, as having granted the land out of the royal domain.[6]The Canons Regular of St. Augustine (of Hippo) are said to have been founded at Avignon in or about 1061. Their first establishment in England was at Colchester (circa1105), where the picturesque ruins of the Priory Church, dedicated to St. Botolph, are all that remain of the monastic buildings. The habit consisted of a black cassock with a white rochet, over which a black cloak and hood were worn, thus leading to their familiar name of the Black Canons—not to be confused with the BlackFriars, a Dominican Order of mendicants, introduced at St. Bartholomew's Priory under Queen Mary. From an anecdote related by Matthew Paris (under the year 1250), and quoted in most accounts of the Priory, it seems that the inmates, while recognizing the authority of the Bishop of London, were extremely jealous of outside interference. The Archbishop of Canterbury (Boniface of Savoy) had ventured to include St. Bartholomew's in one of his visitations. He was received with becoming dignity by the sub-prior, but politely warned against going beyond his jurisdiction. This so enraged his Grace that he struck the sub-prior in the face, and, "with many oaths," rent in pieces the rich cope he was wearing, treading it under his feet, and thrusting the sub-prior against a pillar of the chancel with such violence as almost to kill him. A general conflict followed between the Canons and the Archbishop's attendants, which was taken up outside and set the whole city in an uproar.[7]VideDr. Norman Moore's edition from the copy in the Record Office.[8]There had been a decline in public interest for some years before 1691, when the abuses which had grown round the celebration led to its reduction from fourteen to four days: but the fair lingered on in a degenerate state till it was last proclaimed by the Lord Mayor in 1850, and finally ceased in 1855. The live cattle market, so vividly described, with its attendant nuisances, in the twenty-first chapter of "Oliver Twist," was closed at the same time, and the business transferred to the new Caledonian Market. The open pens at Smithfield have been superseded by covered buildings, to which the old Newgate Market has been removed, and considerably developed, for the sale of meat, the slaughtering for the most part being done locally in the various places whence the supplies are derived.The memory of old associations is preserved in the street which runs along the north side of the church, and still bears the name of "Cloth Fair": and the site of "Pye Corner," where the great fire of 1666 reached its limit, is marked by a tablet in the wall, at the entrance to Cock Lane in Giltspur Street, a short distance to the south-west. The place took its name from the "Court of Pie-Powder," which was held during the fair here, as at similar gatherings throughout the country, to deal expeditiously with disturbers of the peace. The etymology is traced to the old Frenchpied pouldré, with supposed reference to the dusty feet of pedlars and others who came before the court—now extinguished in the more modern Petty Sessions.A lively description of the fair, in its palmy days, is given in a tract, printed in 1641 for Richard Harper at the "Bible and Harp" in Smithfield, entitled, "Bartholomew Fair, or varieties of fancies, where you may find a faire of wares, and all to please your mind, with the several enormityes and misdemeanours which are there seen and heard."Among the more gloomy associations of Smithfield are the martyrdoms which took place there during the Marian persecution of 1555-57. Of the victims, John Rogers, John Bradford, and John Philpot are commemorated in a modern tablet let into the wall of the hospital facing the square where they suffered. The church to their memory, referred to in the inscription, is in St. John Street Road, where it was built as a Chapel-of-Ease to the parish church of St. John-of-Jerusalem, founded by the Knights Hospitallers in 1185.[9]The late Mr. J. H. Parker was inclined to think there was a tower in each corner (though two only could be represented in the seal), as was not unusual in France and elsewhere, but rarely the case in England. (See his lecture delivered in the church on 13th July, 1863.)[10]Vide"Henry VIII and the English Monasteries," by the Rt. Rev. Abbot Gasquet, D.D., O.S.B., for an able statement of the case for the communities: and an article by G. G. Perry ("Eng. Hist. Review," April, 1889), on "Episcopal Visitations of the Austin Canons," for some cases of laxity.[11]The Dominicans were introduced at St. Bartholomew's in 1556, when their old monastery (dating from 1276), near the north end of Blackfriars Bridge, was no longer available. Possibly their work and reputation in making converts may have had some influence on the choice of the Order, which, moreover, was governed by the Augustinian rule, adopted (with additions) by their founder in 1215, and so far brought the community under the traditions of their predecessors. The members at Smithfield consisted of English, Spanish, and Belgian friars, and Fr. William Perrin, O.P., was appointed as their chief. When he died in 1558, Fr. Richard Hargrave was elected in his place, but was not allowed to take office, apparently in view of the suppression which was impending when the Letters Patent from the General, confirming his election, reached England in the following year. By the time of the actual expulsion (13th July, 1559) the community had been reduced by deaths and migrations to "three priests and one young man," who would seem to have conformed, in preference to leaving the country. (Vide"The Elizabethan Religious Settlement," ch. iv, by Dom H. N. Birt, O.S.B.)For the general history of the Black Friars the reader is referred to Archbishop Alemany's "Life of St. Dominic, with a Sketch of the Dominican Order," the "Etudes sur l'Ordre de St. Dominique" by D'Anzas, and "The Coming of the Friars" by Dr. Aug. Jessopp. The "Chronica Majora" of Matthew Paris afford some lively reading on the subject.[12]It is possible that investigations now pending may involve a slight rearrangement of this conjectural plan, as those previously drawn have similarly been modified from time to time by fresh discoveries.[13]This suggestion of Bishop Grindal's recalls the case of Beaulieu Abbey where the beautiful refectory is still preserved as the parish church.[14]The church had been "restored" in 1789 by Mr. George Dance, architect to the hospital, in a spirit which may be inferred from the description of the interior given above. A more sympathetic restoration was inaugurated by Mr. Philip Hardwick in 1823.[15]When the church was repaired by Mr. John Blyth in 1836, this painting was removed, and a range of columns, bearing small semicircular arches, substituted for it as a reredos. During these alterations it was discovered that the stone wall (erected by de Walden) between the wooden altar-piece and the original apse, was painted in bright red tempera, sprinkled with black stars.The above-mentioned letters are attributed to Mr. John Carter, but are merely signed by "An Architect."[16]It would probably be unfair to infer any unusual neglect in spiritual matters from the architectural conditions. In Paterson's "Pietas Londinensis" there is a list of public services at many London churches, as held in the early part of the eighteenth century. The services at St. Bartholomew-the-Great are there quoted as "Daily in the last week in the month at 11 a.m. and 5 p.m.," and at St. Bartholomew-the-Less as "Daily at 11 a.m."[17]It should be stated that the fringe factory had covered the remains of the crypt and Lady Chapel, besides projecting some twenty feet into the east end of the church. The architects for these earlier restorations were Professor Hayter Lewis and Mr. Slater, who deserve credit for their careful preservation of the old work.[18]The obstruction on the south side of the triforium has been already mentioned. The northern side was used for the parochial boys' school for many years down to 1892, when the scholars were transferred to the new schools built for them adjoining the church.
[1]I. "Liber fundationis ecclesiae et prioratus S. Bartholomaei in West-Smithfield, London; per Raherum qui illic religiosos viros secundum regulam S. patris Augustini aggregavit, iisdemque per XXII annos prioris dignitate et officio functus praetuit, et de miraculis ipsius."
II. "Idem liber Anglice."
Both are on parchment, in pages of the same (quarto) size, and bound together in a single volume of eighty-three leaves, divided almost equally between the Latin and English versions.—Cottonian MSS. Vespasian, B. ix.
[2]"When he attained the flower of youth, he began to haunt the households of noblemen and the palaces of princes, where, under every elbow of them, he spread their cushions, with apings and flatterings delectably anointing their eyes, to draw to him their friendships. And yet he was not content with this, but haunted the King's palace, and among the noisefull press of that tumultuous Court enforced himself with jollity and carnal suavity, by the which he might draw to him the hearts of many a one."—Cottonian MS.,ut supra.
[3]Cottonian MS.
[4]Ibid.
[5]This Richard de Belmeis (Beauvais) was the first of two bishops of the same name, and held the See of London for twenty years (1108-1128).
The name of Rahere, which appears in various forms, suggests a French origin; and from the fact that it occurs in the signature, or attestation, of certain documents discovered in Brittany, as well as from the close relations between the bishop and the founder of St. Bartholomew's, it is conjectured that they both came from the same neighbourhood. Otherwise their joint interest in the foundation at Smithfield is sufficiently accounted for by the benevolent object and the situation within the London diocese.
Leland gives the credit of the foundation to Henry I, as having granted the land out of the royal domain.
[6]The Canons Regular of St. Augustine (of Hippo) are said to have been founded at Avignon in or about 1061. Their first establishment in England was at Colchester (circa1105), where the picturesque ruins of the Priory Church, dedicated to St. Botolph, are all that remain of the monastic buildings. The habit consisted of a black cassock with a white rochet, over which a black cloak and hood were worn, thus leading to their familiar name of the Black Canons—not to be confused with the BlackFriars, a Dominican Order of mendicants, introduced at St. Bartholomew's Priory under Queen Mary. From an anecdote related by Matthew Paris (under the year 1250), and quoted in most accounts of the Priory, it seems that the inmates, while recognizing the authority of the Bishop of London, were extremely jealous of outside interference. The Archbishop of Canterbury (Boniface of Savoy) had ventured to include St. Bartholomew's in one of his visitations. He was received with becoming dignity by the sub-prior, but politely warned against going beyond his jurisdiction. This so enraged his Grace that he struck the sub-prior in the face, and, "with many oaths," rent in pieces the rich cope he was wearing, treading it under his feet, and thrusting the sub-prior against a pillar of the chancel with such violence as almost to kill him. A general conflict followed between the Canons and the Archbishop's attendants, which was taken up outside and set the whole city in an uproar.
[7]VideDr. Norman Moore's edition from the copy in the Record Office.
[8]There had been a decline in public interest for some years before 1691, when the abuses which had grown round the celebration led to its reduction from fourteen to four days: but the fair lingered on in a degenerate state till it was last proclaimed by the Lord Mayor in 1850, and finally ceased in 1855. The live cattle market, so vividly described, with its attendant nuisances, in the twenty-first chapter of "Oliver Twist," was closed at the same time, and the business transferred to the new Caledonian Market. The open pens at Smithfield have been superseded by covered buildings, to which the old Newgate Market has been removed, and considerably developed, for the sale of meat, the slaughtering for the most part being done locally in the various places whence the supplies are derived.
The memory of old associations is preserved in the street which runs along the north side of the church, and still bears the name of "Cloth Fair": and the site of "Pye Corner," where the great fire of 1666 reached its limit, is marked by a tablet in the wall, at the entrance to Cock Lane in Giltspur Street, a short distance to the south-west. The place took its name from the "Court of Pie-Powder," which was held during the fair here, as at similar gatherings throughout the country, to deal expeditiously with disturbers of the peace. The etymology is traced to the old Frenchpied pouldré, with supposed reference to the dusty feet of pedlars and others who came before the court—now extinguished in the more modern Petty Sessions.
A lively description of the fair, in its palmy days, is given in a tract, printed in 1641 for Richard Harper at the "Bible and Harp" in Smithfield, entitled, "Bartholomew Fair, or varieties of fancies, where you may find a faire of wares, and all to please your mind, with the several enormityes and misdemeanours which are there seen and heard."
Among the more gloomy associations of Smithfield are the martyrdoms which took place there during the Marian persecution of 1555-57. Of the victims, John Rogers, John Bradford, and John Philpot are commemorated in a modern tablet let into the wall of the hospital facing the square where they suffered. The church to their memory, referred to in the inscription, is in St. John Street Road, where it was built as a Chapel-of-Ease to the parish church of St. John-of-Jerusalem, founded by the Knights Hospitallers in 1185.
[9]The late Mr. J. H. Parker was inclined to think there was a tower in each corner (though two only could be represented in the seal), as was not unusual in France and elsewhere, but rarely the case in England. (See his lecture delivered in the church on 13th July, 1863.)
[10]Vide"Henry VIII and the English Monasteries," by the Rt. Rev. Abbot Gasquet, D.D., O.S.B., for an able statement of the case for the communities: and an article by G. G. Perry ("Eng. Hist. Review," April, 1889), on "Episcopal Visitations of the Austin Canons," for some cases of laxity.
[11]The Dominicans were introduced at St. Bartholomew's in 1556, when their old monastery (dating from 1276), near the north end of Blackfriars Bridge, was no longer available. Possibly their work and reputation in making converts may have had some influence on the choice of the Order, which, moreover, was governed by the Augustinian rule, adopted (with additions) by their founder in 1215, and so far brought the community under the traditions of their predecessors. The members at Smithfield consisted of English, Spanish, and Belgian friars, and Fr. William Perrin, O.P., was appointed as their chief. When he died in 1558, Fr. Richard Hargrave was elected in his place, but was not allowed to take office, apparently in view of the suppression which was impending when the Letters Patent from the General, confirming his election, reached England in the following year. By the time of the actual expulsion (13th July, 1559) the community had been reduced by deaths and migrations to "three priests and one young man," who would seem to have conformed, in preference to leaving the country. (Vide"The Elizabethan Religious Settlement," ch. iv, by Dom H. N. Birt, O.S.B.)
For the general history of the Black Friars the reader is referred to Archbishop Alemany's "Life of St. Dominic, with a Sketch of the Dominican Order," the "Etudes sur l'Ordre de St. Dominique" by D'Anzas, and "The Coming of the Friars" by Dr. Aug. Jessopp. The "Chronica Majora" of Matthew Paris afford some lively reading on the subject.
[12]It is possible that investigations now pending may involve a slight rearrangement of this conjectural plan, as those previously drawn have similarly been modified from time to time by fresh discoveries.
[13]This suggestion of Bishop Grindal's recalls the case of Beaulieu Abbey where the beautiful refectory is still preserved as the parish church.
[14]The church had been "restored" in 1789 by Mr. George Dance, architect to the hospital, in a spirit which may be inferred from the description of the interior given above. A more sympathetic restoration was inaugurated by Mr. Philip Hardwick in 1823.
[15]When the church was repaired by Mr. John Blyth in 1836, this painting was removed, and a range of columns, bearing small semicircular arches, substituted for it as a reredos. During these alterations it was discovered that the stone wall (erected by de Walden) between the wooden altar-piece and the original apse, was painted in bright red tempera, sprinkled with black stars.
The above-mentioned letters are attributed to Mr. John Carter, but are merely signed by "An Architect."
[16]It would probably be unfair to infer any unusual neglect in spiritual matters from the architectural conditions. In Paterson's "Pietas Londinensis" there is a list of public services at many London churches, as held in the early part of the eighteenth century. The services at St. Bartholomew-the-Great are there quoted as "Daily in the last week in the month at 11 a.m. and 5 p.m.," and at St. Bartholomew-the-Less as "Daily at 11 a.m."
[17]It should be stated that the fringe factory had covered the remains of the crypt and Lady Chapel, besides projecting some twenty feet into the east end of the church. The architects for these earlier restorations were Professor Hayter Lewis and Mr. Slater, who deserve credit for their careful preservation of the old work.
[18]The obstruction on the south side of the triforium has been already mentioned. The northern side was used for the parochial boys' school for many years down to 1892, when the scholars were transferred to the new schools built for them adjoining the church.
PRIORY CHURCH FROM WESTTHE PRIORY CHURCH FROM THE WEST
VIEW FROM THE WESTVIEW FROM THE WESTFrom a print of 1810
The church lies in a general east and west direction, and, at the present day, consists of the Choir and encircling Ambulatory, Lady Chapel, north and south Transepts, with the lower stage of the central Tower, one bay of the ancient Nave, three bays of the Cloister, and a seventeenth-century brick Tower—the whole hidden behind the houses, in an obscure corner of West Smithfield, by no means easy for a stranger to discover. It will be well for him, therefore, in the first place, to make his way to the better known buildings of St. Bartholomew's Hospital, and then walk across the open square, between them and Smithfield Market, to its eastern side, where he will find the entrance close to the narrow street called Cloth Fair.
The Gatewayis interesting, as a surviving fragment of the Early-English period, supposed by some authorities to mark the site of the original west front, of which they regard it as having formed part—the entrance to the south aisle—which was allowed to stand, after the grand central porch, and a corresponding doorway on the northern side, were destroyed with the nave. More probable is the conjecture that it was merely the entrance to the monastic enclosure, turned to account as a ready-made structure when the work at the church was the reverse of constructive, as it seems too large and too high for a mere doorway at the end of an aisle, besides being rather too far from the church to agree with its supposed dimensions. The modern iron gate is surmounted by a gilded cross and the name of the church on a framework in the tympanum. The arch is acutely pointed, and moulded in four orders, with a tooth ornament in the hollows, and is in tolerably good condition; but the supporting shafts have been superseded by a wall on each side, with the circular moulded capitals (much decayed) above it, the bases either being destroyed or buried in the earth beneath. The gateway is in a line with the houses facing the public square, which touch it on both sides, and are carried on without interruption above the opening.
When the floor of the church was lowered to its original level in 1863-6, the present approach to it was made by an excavation through the churchyard, which covered the site of the nave, and is now walled off on the northern side of the passage.
The gravestones are of comparatively modern date, and of no special interest. A few of them have been left against the wall on the right, where there is something of more antiquarian value in a collection ofdébrisfrom the old building, containing the bases of some of the Early-English columns in their original place, but hopelessly mutilated.
The existingWest Frontdates from the time when the nave was destroyed. In 1893 a great improvement was made in its appearance by refacing the wall with flint and stone, and otherwise ornamenting the surface, to bring it into uniformity with the porch which was then built at that end of the church. There are now three round-headed recesses in the central portion of the wall, those at the extremities containing narrow windows; a band of chequered stonework is carried across the space beneath them, and a small circular window inserted above. It may be mentioned here that the pointed arch has generally been adopted in the new work, to distinguish it from the old, but the characteristic massiveness and predominant scale of the original has been preserved throughout the restoration. A practical illustration of these principles will be seen inThe Porch, as an ingenious compromise between the older and newer types of architecture which are brought together in the main fabric. It is built of a combination of flint and Portland stone, like the wall-front just described, with which it is connected by a small circular tower and an oblong extension on the northern side. The two storeys of which it consists are divided externally by a band of chequered diaper. The shallow arch of the doorway is simply moulded and very slightly pointed, suggesting a transition from the Romanesque to the Early-English style, while the Perpendicular is represented in the battlements on the roof and the octagonal turret on the southern side. In a niche above the apex of the arch, and on a bracket displaying the Priory arms, upheld by two angels, stands a figure of Rahere, the founder, with his left hand raised in benediction, and in his right a model of the church. The design of this little edifice is taken from one of the ancient seals (see Illustration 9 in the Appendix), and shows the central tower, with a round turret at each end, and a small building (probably the original Lady Chapel) projecting from the east. Rahere's features are copied from the effigy on his tomb, which is believed to be an authentic portrait. The figure occupies the central position in the higher storey, with three arched recesses on either side (the middle one in each case containing a window), diminishing in height outwards, in harmony with the lines of the roof. The ceiling within the porch is groined in four divisions; and the "priest's chamber" above it makes a convenient private room for the rector of the parish. This new porch bears its own date (1893), and the date of the foundation, seven hundred and seventy years earlier.[1]
The Brick Tower, built in 1628, is said to have been altered to some extent in subsequent repairs, which have not improved its appearance. So at least say the admirers of King Charles I, who argue that nothing quite so hideous could have been erected in his reign. It is a plain square structure, seventy-five feet in height, in four stages, gradually diminishing in area upwards, the lower part supported by buttresses, and the summit crowned by battlements, with a small bell-turret and vane. More interesting than the tower itself—which is, in fact, an incongruous addition to the church—are theBellswhich it contains, a precious inheritance from the Augustinian Canons, and in some respects the most remarkable in London. The foundry stamp shows them to have been cast by Thomas Bullisdon, who died about 1510. They are the smaller five of a ring of twelve, six of which were sold at the Dissolution to the Church of St. Sepulchre, Holborn, where they have since been re-cast, and one has disappeared from history.
The measurements and inscriptions are as follows:
1.Sancte Bartholemeo: Ora pro nobis.Diameter 22 in.2.Sancta Katerina: Ora pro nobis.Diameter 24 in.3.Sancta Anna: Ora pro nobis.Diameter 26¾ in.4.Sancte Johannes Baptiste: Ora pro nobis.Diameter 29¼ in.5.Sancte Petre: Ora pro nobis.Diameter 31 in.
1.Sancte Bartholemeo: Ora pro nobis.Diameter 22 in.
2.Sancta Katerina: Ora pro nobis.Diameter 24 in.
3.Sancta Anna: Ora pro nobis.Diameter 26¾ in.
4.Sancte Johannes Baptiste: Ora pro nobis.Diameter 29¼ in.
5.Sancte Petre: Ora pro nobis.Diameter 31 in.
The clock-bell, in the cage on the top, is inscribed, "T. Mears of London Fecit1814." Diameter about 25 inches.
The churchyard is overlooked on its northern side by the back windows of some rickety old wooden houses, suggestive of an easy conflagration, and dangerously near the church. They date from the time of Queen Elizabeth, and stand on a piece of the ground formerly devoted to Bartholomew Fair, the memory of which is perpetuated in the adjoining street (Cloth Fair), where the humble shops in front of the same houses are said to be a survival of the ancient booths. They run close up to theNorth Porch, which projects into the street from the transept. It was erected in 1893, at the same time that the transept was restored. The porch is similar in material and character to that on the west, with some differences in detail, the chief of which are that the figure over the door represents St. Bartholomew, with only one window on each side of it—in this case square-headed, with a label-moulding—and the chequered diaper covers the whole wall-surface of the upper storey. The Saint is raising his right hand in the act of blessing, and holds in the left a knife, which has become his emblem, as the instrument of his passion. A scroll entwined about the effigy bears the appropriate words (in English) from Rahere's vision:Almighty God this spiritual house shall inhabit and hallow it.The upper chamber here is reserved for the mission-lady working in the district.
NORTH PORCHTHE NORTH PORCH
The face of the transept visible above displays three lancet-headed windows of the clerestory; the spaces are laid out in ornamental panels; and there is an octagonal turret on the right, with battlements and a pointed roof.
The rest of the church is hemmed in, and for the most part concealed, by tumble-down houses, forming a labyrinth of narrow winding passages about the walls, and even encroaching upon them—a bit of old London which has escaped the modern spirit of improvement, and would appear to be full of suggestive material for the writer of romance. As we thread our way through this network round the east end and south side, to reach the entrance once more, we get an occasional glimpse of the choir and Lady Chapel through a gap in the surrounding buildings; but are far more impressed with the sense of poverty and ruin than by anything in the way of architecture, which can be much better seen and described from within. The new schools in the south-east corner (built to supersede the old structure which still remains attached to the north triforium) are worth a visiten route: and so, perhaps, is the abandoned burial-ground outside the south transept, if only as a melancholy souvenir of the past.
The church is open every day, and the services are as follows:
Sundays8.15 a.m.Holy Communion.11 a.m.Mattins.11.45 a.m.Holy Communion (choral) and Sermon.4 p.m.Children's Service and Catechizing.7 p.m.Evensong and Sermon.Saints' Days8.15 a.m.Holy Communion.11 a.m.Mattins.8.30 p.m.Evensong and Sermon.Ordinary Days11 a.m.Mattins.4 p.m.Evensong, except on Wednesdays, when thearrangement is the same as for Saints' Days.
FOOTNOTE[1]Within the porch a tablet on the south wall gives a list of the Priors and Rectors. On the opposite wall another tablet, recording some of the restorative work, forms part of the memorial to Sir Borradaile Savory. For the rest of the memorial see notes on pp. 48 and 57.
[1]Within the porch a tablet on the south wall gives a list of the Priors and Rectors. On the opposite wall another tablet, recording some of the restorative work, forms part of the memorial to Sir Borradaile Savory. For the rest of the memorial see notes on pp. 48 and 57.
View of CrossingVIEW OF THE CROSSING FROM THE TRIFORIUM
As soon as the visitor enters the church, he will be able to contrast the Norman work of the twelfth century with that which succeeded it in the thirteenth, as both are brought into juxtaposition immediately within the western doorway. The survivingBay of the Nave, which probably marks the boundary of the monastic choir, now answers the purpose of a vestibule to the church, from the body of which it is separated by the organ-screen, the instrument being carried on a gallery built against the western wall. The nave arches, at each end of the passage thus formed, are semicircular in shape, with a zigzag moulding on the inner sides, and rest on massive rounded piers, with square bases and abaci and simple cushioned capitals—the whole obviously of early twelfth century date. The northern arch has been built up, and a small Tudor doorway, inserted in the wall, gives access to the transept.
At right angles with the southern arch, and on each side of the entrance to the choir aisle, or ambulatory, there is a cluster ofEarly English Columns, still bearing a portion of the vaulting-shafts, from which it can be seen that the pitch of the roof to the nave aisle was much higher than that of the ambulatory to which it was attached, probably implying a corresponding difference in the height of the nave. The slender columns on both sides are alike in their moulded bases, which resemble those left (in situ) among the ruins outside, as far as the latter can be discerned; but there is an interesting variety in other details, the capitals of the northern group being cut into foliage, while they are moulded on the south, where also the shafts are banded.
The Organ-screen(modern) is an elegant piece of work in oak, panelled and canopied in the Perpendicular style. With the organ-front above, it forms an admirable background to the choir-stalls, which are arranged in the space within the old central tower, the seats for the congregation being carried along towards the east, facing each other chapel-wise, in continuation of the stalls on either side. A description of the organ will be found in the Appendix.
THE SOUTH AISLE FROM THE WEST, SHOWING THE EARLY ENGLISH SHAFTSTHE SOUTH AISLE FROM THE WEST, SHOWING THE EARLY ENGLISH SHAFTS
The Tower Archesare worth particular notice. Those on the north and south are pointed, and much narrower than the others, which have a bold semicircular sweep. An intelligible reason sometimes assigned for the difference is that the area enclosed is not exactly square, and that it became necessary for the builders to carry the transept-arches to a point, to accommodate them to the oblong plan, and bring the upper mouldings into line with those of the rounded arches between the choir and nave. On this supposition the result has been called "an incidental use of the pointed arch," examples of which occur elsewhere (e.g., at Christ Church, Oxford, and other churches of the transitional period) before it became a distinguishing feature of the later style. It is tolerably certain, however, that the tower was rebuilt in the fifteenth century, and that the north and south arches were then altered from their first design. And their appearance is strongly in favour of a reconstruction; for it will be noticed that, instead of the usual elegant inclination in a continuous curve from the spring to the apex, they rise perpendicularly for some distance above the piers on either side, and then take rather an abrupt turn inwards, suggesting the imposition of a pointed heading on an original stilted form. Further signs of alteration appear on the northern side, where the capitals have been recut in the Perpendicular fashion; but the Norman pilasters and mouldings on the south remain untouched. On both sides the double serrated line of moulding claims attention, as an example of the "saw-tooth" ornament found in early work. A difference will be observed in the corbels supporting the mouldings of the eastern and western arches. The former are much more boldly cut, with all the appearance of original work, while those on the west would seem to have been modified by some architect of the Perpendicular age. In the decoration of the inner tower walls there is a lozenge-shaped panel in each of the spandrels, sculptured into a floral ornament something like the Greek honeysuckle, a shallow arcading in the angles, and a cornice of zigzag moulding extending round the walls, immediately below the modern ceiling (1886) of panelled oak.
The piers at the angles of the tower are not very much more massive than the adjacent walls, and do not strike one as capable of sustaining a superstructure of any great weight. It may therefore be inferred that the tower was a low one, as is in fact borne out by the representation on the Priory seal, where the circular turrets at each end of the church are shown to exceed it in height.The North Transept, which had been occupied for many years as a blacksmith's forge, was re-opened on 5th June, 1893, after restoration to something like its original state. It is now used as a morning chapel, with an altar in a recess on the north side, slightly to the east of the porch already described, by which the church is entered from Cloth Fair.[1]
NORHT TRANSEPT AND SCREENTHE NORTH TRANSEPT AND SCREENTHE NORTH TRANSEPT FROM THE SOUTHTHE NORTH TRANSEPT FROM THE SOUTH
Both transepts had been injured by fire, and were originally much deeper than they are at present, but to have rebuilt them exactly on the old lines would have involved the suppression of a right of way and the purchase of neighbouring properties, besides adding to the cost of heating and maintenance, expenses which the funds would not allow. Here, as elsewhere, the old work, as far as it remained, has been left undisturbed, and simply incorporated into the new, the architect contenting himself with removing the modern walls which had been set up at the extremities to keep out the weather, providing abutments to strengthen the central arches, and supplying what was wanted to complete the first design within the more limited area. During the reconstruction of this transept the fine arcadedStone Screenwas revealed which separates it from the space within the tower. The screen was buried some four feet in earth, and the upper part entirely concealed by the smithy. The style shows it to be of the fifteenth century, when there was probably a similar screen on the opposite side of the choir, the two backing the stalls, which are known to have been carried under the tower. The existing screen is divided into two wide arches, slightly depressed, with a moulding in four orders. It has been refaced on the choir side, and a partition of ironwork, ornamented with coloured coats of arms, inserted in the open spaces, to serve as a barrier without obstructing the view in either direction.
Under one of the arches there is a stone coffin, with a much decayed cover of Purbeck marble, which is supposed to have contained the body of a Prior. It was opened for examination during the rebuilding, when a skeleton was found within it, with sandals still on the feet, but as the skull was gone it was evident that the coffin had previously been opened. In the arch by its side there was another coffin of the same character, which has unfortunately been shifted to the north ambulatory. It is without a cover, and the skeleton is no longer there; but the leaden envelope remains, more or less in the state in which it was folded round the corpse. The arched recess on the east, by the side of the opening to the ambulatory, is supposed to have been the entrance to the Walden Chantry; but it has been built up with a return-wall.
The triforium is continuous through all three walls of the transept, each bay consisting of a double pointed arch, except that above the ambulatory, where the surviving Norman fragment shows three round-headed openings, included in a semicircular arch with billet moulding. The clerestory in the north wall, where the work is entirely new, is ornamented with a traceried arcading on an interior plane, which has a very beautiful effect.
The South Transept, opened after restoration on 14th March, 1891, had been turned to account as a burial-ground, supplementary to that at the west end. The side walls were allowed to stand for the enclosure, but the south wall was pulled down, and another erected within the space, to separate the "Green Churchyard," as it was called, from the church. In this case, therefore, the restoration meant little more than the removal of the intercepting wall to open out the transept, and building a new one at the extremity, with a partial reconstruction of those which were decayed to connect them with it. In the renovation of both transepts blue Bath stone has been used internally, and Portland stone with flints for the exterior. The conservative nature of the work is here seen in the side walls, each of which retains a bay of the old Norman triforium, with its round-headed divisions, to which a new bay has been added, with a slightly pointed arcade, as a connection, without any violent contrast, between the older parts of the transept and the new south wall. This presents an agreeable variety to that facing it in the opposite transept. In the upper stage, instead of a triforium and clerestory, there are three tall windows of two lights each, the central being carried above the others, and distinguished by a more ornate tracery, here taking a cruciform pattern above the trefoil-headed divisions, instead of a foliated circle as in the side windows. The arcading in which they are all placed is severely simple in character, the slightly pointed headings resting on plain shafts, with moulded bases and capitals—the whole composition a pleasing relief to the heavier architecture on each side without being discordant. The same may be said of the lower stage, also arcaded in three divisions, corresponding with those above, but rather more massive in character. The central arch forms a porch, giving access to the church on that side, with a recess to the east and west of it, each lighted by a dwarfed window. The eastern of these recesses answers the purpose of a baptistery.The Fontdates from the early fifteenth century, and is octagonal in shape, with a tall cover, crocketed at the angles, suspended on a swivel above it. The facets of the octagon are perfectly plain, but there is an oblong incision in one of them which looks very much like the matrix of a brass, or the seat of a sculptured panel, which has been removed. There is a traditional interest attaching to the font as that in which William Hogarth, the famous painter and satirist, was baptized. He was born in Bartholomew Close on 10th November, 1697, and his baptism is entered in the parish register on the 28th ofthe same month.[2]It is recorded that the font had a narrow escape in the eighteenth century, when the Vestry ordered it to be removed for a new one, but fortunately the order was never carried out.
In a recess on the eastern side of the transept there is a monument toElizabeth Freshwater, whose effigy, in the costume and ruff collar of her time, is shown kneeling at a smallpriedieu, with English and Latin inscriptions beneath:
Here lyeth interred the body of Elizabeth Freshwater, late wife of Thomas Freshwater, of Henbridge, in the County of Essex, Esquire; eldest daughter of John Orme of this parish, Gentleman, and Mary his wife. She died the 16th day of May Anno Domini 1617, being of the age of 26 years.Ut sic trina uno vulnere praeda cadat?Unam saeva feris; sed et uno hoc occidit ictuUxor dulcis, amans filia, chara soror.(=O hasty death, how hast them so contrivedThy darts with venomous poison to directThat, by one cruel stroke, not one but three are killed,Sweet wife, a loving daughter, sister dear!)
Here lyeth interred the body of Elizabeth Freshwater, late wife of Thomas Freshwater, of Henbridge, in the County of Essex, Esquire; eldest daughter of John Orme of this parish, Gentleman, and Mary his wife. She died the 16th day of May Anno Domini 1617, being of the age of 26 years.
Ut sic trina uno vulnere praeda cadat?Unam saeva feris; sed et uno hoc occidit ictuUxor dulcis, amans filia, chara soror.(=O hasty death, how hast them so contrivedThy darts with venomous poison to directThat, by one cruel stroke, not one but three are killed,Sweet wife, a loving daughter, sister dear!)
The doorway beneath the monument opens on the staircase to the south triforium.
The Choir, now restored as nearly as possible to its original state, consists of five bays on each side, with an apsidal termination of five arches, distinguished from the others (mainly semicircular) by their "stilted" form and much narrower span, which, in fact, measures no more than the diameter of the intervening columns, and gives an appearance of extra massiveness to the east end of the church. All the arches display some approximation to the "horseshoe," in a slight inward inclination on either side towards the capitals on which they rest; but the shape is very definitely assumed in each of those immediately contiguous to the transverse curve. These are of the genuine "horseshoe" pattern characteristic of Arabian or Moorish buildings; and their exact similarity in detail, with their position facing one another at each extremity of the apse, would seem to indicate a structural necessity, or deliberate intention in the design, which, neither here nor elsewhere in the arcading, is to be attributed to any subsidence, or imperfect workmanship, sometimes held to account for the deflection as a mere accident.